Pet Fountains

Electric Dog Fences and Containment Systems

Dog containment system, also known as electric dog fencing, invisible dog fence or in ground radio fences, have one main purpose - to keep your dog safe, in your yard! Keeping a dog from escaping is important to keep your dog safe from injury, being hit by a car or picked up by local Animal Control Officers (also saves you on vet bills or fines).

When people start looking at purchasing a dog fence, often they get overwhelmed with its specifications and features. However, it is important to note that all these systems have very similar features, and it is important to identify which of these features are a priority for you and your dog. All of these dog fences can go underground, on the ground, or attach to an existing fence.
All hidden dog containment systems come with a number of main components. They may differ slightly in appearance because of the different names and brands we buy but more or less they are the same. The following are the main components which are essential for the Dog Containment System to work:

Transmitter Box – the transmitter for dog fencing has a couple of main roles,

To send and receive the radio signal through the wire - this is how the transmitter can alert you to a break in the wire (and why the wire must complete a loop).

The transmitter allows you to adjust various aspect of the dog fencing, most importantly, the boundary width which is vital for the success of the system.

Insulated Copper Wire – the wire for dog fences must complete a loop, which allows the transmitter to know that a good signal is going through the wire. The wire must start at the transmitter, go around the boundary and then return to the transmitter. The majority of Invisible dog fence systems include 150m of wire, if you need additional wire we have Boundary Kits available.

A Collar – this containment system collar is worn by the dog and produces a warning tone and correction when the collar responds to the radio signal from the wire.

How a containment fence works - Your containment fence transmitter needs to be set up in your garage or shed (anywhere out of the weather) and plugged into mains power. The transmitter emits a radio signal through the boundary wire around your property. As your dog approaches the boundary wire and into the radio signal field, the collar will deliver a warning tone and vibration to warn them that they are about to enter the stimulation zone. If they ignore the tone and vibration and continue towards the boundary wire, the collar will deliver a safe static stimulation to remind your dog to retreat back to the 'safe zone'. The strength of the static correction can be adjusted on your dog's collar and the radio signal distance range from the wire can be set anywhere from on the wire to a couple of meters - this is adjusted on your transmitter.

Using the Dog Containment System - Follow the easy Steps

Step 1 – Select the right Dog Fence
There are a number of different types of dog containment systems available today. To make a good decision, we should consider the features or options that are applicable to your situation, things like reliability, rechargeable or battery powered collars, waterproof or weather resistant collars, and factory set or adjustable correction settings - it is prioritising these features into importance and priority. This will help determine the best dog fencing for you and your dog. To assist you with this, please read our article"Making Sure You Choose the Right Dog Fence"

Step 2 – Find a suitable location for Dog Containment System Transmitter
Generally, people use the laundry, garage or a shed as the ideal location to plug their transmitter in and keep it out of the weather. When trying to find a suitable location for the transmitter, being close to the boundary will save on the amount of wire needed to reach to the boundary. In planning the layout of your wire try to avoid areas with lots of metal as this can interfere with the radio signal.Step 3 – Installing the Containment System
Firstly set up your transmitter. You can now go about laying out the wire of your electric dog fence, don't secure it in place straight away though. You are better to test it with the collar and ensure that the collar responds and the boundary width is set to an appropriate level. Most dog containment systems include splices that contain a gel substance to ensure the copper wire does not corrode at any joins. Make sure you do your joints properly as this is vital for a clear radio signal!
You are about ready to start using your dog containment system.

Step 4 – Train Your Dog in How to Respond to the Dog Fence
All hidden fence dog containment systems come with training manuals and/or DVDs that show you how to teach your dog to react to the new dog fence. Be sure to follow them! These systems are very easy to install, without professional assistance. So if you have an escaping dog and cannot afford to structurally fence in your dog, please consider an electric dog fence, you owe it to your dog.